U.S. patent application number 11/933532 was filed with the patent office on 2009-05-07 for systems and methods for technical support based on a flock structure.
Invention is credited to Martin MESSER.
Application Number | 20090119147 11/933532 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40589126 |
Filed Date | 2009-05-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090119147 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MESSER; Martin |
May 7, 2009 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TECHNICAL SUPPORT BASED ON A FLOCK
STRUCTURE
Abstract
An embodiment relates generally to a method of providing
technical support. The method includes providing for a plurality of
technical groups. Each technical group specializes in a technical
area and is comprised of a plurality of senior and junior members.
The method also includes receiving a technical issue and routing
the technical issue to a selected technical group based on the
technical area of the technical issue. The method further includes
generating a solution to the technical issue from the selected
technical group.
Inventors: |
MESSER; Martin; (Raleigh,
NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MH2 TECHNOLOGY LAW GROUP (Cust. No. w/Red Hat)
1951 KIDWELL DRIVE, SUITE 550
TYSONS CORNER
VA
22182
US
|
Family ID: |
40589126 |
Appl. No.: |
11/933532 |
Filed: |
November 1, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/7.14 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/063112 20130101;
G06Q 10/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/9 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/30 20060101
G06F017/30 |
Claims
1. A method of providing technical support, the method comprising:
providing for a plurality of technical groups, each group
specializing in a technical area and comprised of a plurality of
senior and junior members; receiving a technical issue; routing the
technical issue to a selected technical group based on the
technical area of the technical issue; and generating a solution to
the technical issue from the selected technical group.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning the
technical issue to a member of the selected technical group.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: logging the technical
issue into an issue tracker module; and instantiating a ticket for
the technical issue.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising notifying the rest of
the members of the selected technical group with the issue tracker
module of the ticket.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising providing at least one
comment associated with the technical issue to the ticket from one
of the rest of the members of the technical group.
6. The method of claim 3, further comprising: providing a
subscription link to the ticket; subscribing to a mailing list
linked to the subscription link; and receiving any comment
associated with the ticket through the mail list.
7. A system for providing technical support, the system comprising:
a logical router configured to receive requests for technical
assistance from a web service and a telephone network; an issue
tracker module configured to instantiate a respective ticket for
each received request for technical assistance and manage the
respective ticket to resolution, wherein the issue tracker issue
module is coupled to the logical router; and a plurality of
technical groups, each technical group organized based on at least
one of a product and a skill, comprising of junior and senior
members and is linked to the issue tracker module, wherein the
logical router is configured to direct a selected request for
assistance to a selected technical group based on a technical
assessment of the selected request for assistance.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the issue tracker module is
configured to instantiate a ticket for the selected request for
assistance and assign the ticket to a member of the selected
technical group.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the issue tracker module is
configured to broadcast a notification message to notify the
members of the selected technical group and to request a resolution
of the selected request for assistance.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein the issue tracker module is
configured to provide a subscription link to the ticket for
interested parties to participate in a resolution of the selected
request for assistance.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the issue tracker module is
configured to receive a post from an interested party and broadcast
the post to the members of the selected technical group.
12. The system of claim 7, wherein the issue tracker module is
configured to receive a post from a member of the selected
technical group.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the issue tracker module is
configured to broadcast the post to the members of the selected
technical group.
14. An apparatus for providing technical support, the apparatus
comprising: a routing module configured to receive requests for
technical assistance from a web site and a telephone network; a
case management system configured to instantiate a respective
ticket for each received request for technical assistance and
manage the respective ticket to resolution, wherein the case
management system is coupled to the routing module; and a plurality
of groups, each group organized based on at least one of a product
and a skill, comprising of junior and senior members and is linked
to the case management system, wherein the routing module is
configured to direct a selected request for assistance to a
selected group based on a technical assessment of the selected
request for assistance.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the case management system
is configured to instantiate a ticket for the selected request for
assistance and assign the ticket to a member of the selected
group.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the case management system
is configured to broadcast a notification message to notify the
members of the selected group and to request a resolution of the
selected request for assistance.
17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the case management system
is configured to provide a subscription link to the ticket for
interested parties to participate in a resolution of the selected
request for assistance.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the case management system
is configured to receive a post from an interested party and
broadcast the post to the members of the selected group.
19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the case management system
is configured to receive a post from a member of the selected
technical group.
20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the case management system
is configured to broadcast the post to the members of the selected
group.
Description
FIELD
[0001] This invention relates generally to technical support, more
particularly, to systems and methods for technical support based on
a flock structure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
[0002] Computers and software have become critical tools in today's
information based society. Computers and software have provided
tools to users to greatly increase work efficiencies. However, with
the advantages provided by computers and software come occasional
technical problems associated with the computers and software
applications. A typical solution to a computer and/or software
technical problem is to contact technical support of the company
that provided the computer and/or software.
[0003] Technical support departments are typically organized in a
funnel structure. More particularly, the funnel structure is based
on having a large number of generalists to intake the reported
problem and attempt to resolve the reported problem. Above the
generalists, there is a smaller number technical experts. If the
first level of support, the generalists, cannot resolve the
problem, the generalist can then escalate the reported problem to
the technical experts for resolution. When the problem is resolved
by the technical expert, the resolution is forwarded to the
generalist to report back to the report user.
[0004] However, as products evolve and become increasing complex,
it is becoming apparent that the generalists or first level of
support are becoming less equipped to handle the reported issues as
the products demand an increasing knowledge of specialized areas.
In effect, the technical support issues are demanding the
generalist to have more breadth of knowledge as well an increasing
depth of knowledge. Ultimately, this can lead to a situation of
hiring entry level associates (at entry level prices) will become
problematic since the wide range of expertise required in a single
person. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a way to
provide resolution of technical issue without demanding for
specialized skills and a wide breadth of knowledge for entry level
technical support personnel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] Various features of the embodiments can be more fully
appreciated, as the same become better understood with reference to
the following detailed description of the embodiments when
considered in connection with the accompanying figures, in
which:
[0006] FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary system in accordance with an
embodiment;
[0007] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary flock structure in
accordance with another embodiment;
[0008] FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary distribution structure for a
ticket in accordance with yet another embodiment;
[0009] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram for routing in
accordance with yet another embodiment;
[0010] FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary graphical user interface for a
technical support request in accordance with yet another
embodiment;
[0011] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram for telephone
routing in accordance with yet another embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary flow diagram for distributing
posts in accordance with yet another embodiment; and
[0013] FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary computing platform in accordance
with yet another embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0014] For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the principles of
the present invention are described by referring mainly to
exemplary embodiments thereof. However, one of ordinary skill in
the art would readily recognize that the same principles are
equally applicable to, and can be implemented in, all types of
information and service portals, and that any such variations do
not depart from the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
Moreover, in the following detailed description, references are
made to the accompanying figures, which illustrate specific
embodiments. Electrical, mechanical, logical and structural changes
may be made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit
and scope of the present invention. The following detailed
description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense and
the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended
claims and their equivalents.
[0015] Embodiments generally relate to methods and systems for a
novel technical support model that provides enhanced service and
visibility. More particularly, a flock structure can be implemented
to support the products of an entity. The flock structure can be
organized around product or component skill specialization, i.e., a
specialized group of senior and junior technical support staff
focused on a specific areas. A logical router can be configured to
direct an incoming technical issue to an appropriate technical
group to resolve the technical issue either via web site or via
telephone. The technical issue is assigned to a flock member, who
takes ownership of the issue. The technical issue can also be
logged into an issue tracker module. The issue tracker module can
then be configured to issue notification to the rest of the flock
members to provide attention to the technical issue. Outside
members of the flock can subscribe to a mailing list provided by
the issue tracker module to become fully informed about the issue
as well to participate in the issue resolution.
[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system 100 in accordance
with an embodiment. It should be readily apparent to those of
ordinary skill in the art that the system 100 depicted in FIG. 1
represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other
components may be added or existing components may be removed or
modified. Moreover, the system 100 may be implemented using
software components, hardware components, or combinations
thereof.
[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 includes a logical router
110, a case management system 115, and flocks 120. The logical
router 110 can be configured to direct requests for technical
assistance to the appropriate flock 120. The logical router 110 can
comprise of two components: a telephone router module 125 and a web
router module 130.
[0018] The telephone router module 125 module can be configured to
direct telephone calls to a selected flock 120 based on a telephone
routing algorithm based on probability. More particularly, the
telephone routing algorithm monitors the received telephone calls.
The flock 120 that receives the highest percentage of calls can be
deemed the highest probability. The flock 120 that receives the
second highest percentage of calls can be deemed the second highest
probability and so forth to the flock that receives the lowest
percentage of calls can be deemed the lowest probability.
Accordingly, a telephone call for technical assistance is then
routed to the flock 120 with the highest probability. A first
available member in the selected flock 120 can then process the
telephone call, i.e., accept the telephone ticket as a technical
issue or route the telephone call to the appropriate flock 120.
[0019] The web router module 130 can be configured to route users
using a web service and/or website to technical support. More
particularly, a user can access a web service and/or website for
technical assistance. The web service can display a graphical user
interface such as a web page that queries the user for the type of
assistance and the associated product and/or service. The web
service can then forward the received information to the web router
module 130. Subsequently, the web router module 130 can then direct
the request for assistance to the appropriate flock 120.
[0020] The case management system (or issue tracker) 115 can be
configured to manage the technical issue from start to resolution.
More particularly, the case management system 115 can log a request
for technical assistance as a support ticket. The support ticket
can then be assigned to a support person such as an engineer,
specialist, etc. The case management system 115 can then receive
status updates from the engineer/specialist as to the resolution of
the technical issue. Subsequently, the case management system 115
can close the support ticket when the technical issue has been
resolved and the solution posted to the support ticket by the
assigned engineer. Case management systems are generally well known
systems such as Numara Help Desk.TM., Sinergia Help Desk.TM., Issue
Tracker, etc.
[0021] The case management system 115 can also comprise a flock
module 135. The flock module 135 can be configured to provide the
infrastructure to implement the flock model of support. More
particularly, the flock module 135 can be configure to maintain and
manage the flocks 120A-N. Each flock 120 can comprise of junior and
senior members of a technical staff where each member may not be
geographically co-located in the same location. A junior member can
be engineer/specialist from entry-level to about five years of
experience. A senior member can also be an engineer/specialist with
over five years of experience. The differentiation between junior
and senior members can be a user-defined parameter. Each flock 120
can also be organized around a particular skill, product, or
service. For example, in some implementations of the flock model,
one flock can be assigned to an application stack, a second flock
can be assigned to virtualization, a third flock can be assigned to
a file system, etc. In other embodiments, the composition of the
flock can be user determined.
[0022] Accordingly, the flock module 135 can be configured to
maintain a mailing list that includes the junior and senior members
for each flock 120. As a ticket is assigned to a member of a flock
120, the flock module 135 can be configured to transmit a
notification message that notifies the flock 120 of a new technical
issue associated with the new ticket. Any member of a flock 120 can
post a message to the ticket, which is then forwarded to the rest
of the members of the flock 120 by the flock module 135. The flock
module 135 can also forward a copy of the post to the ticket to the
reporting user of the associated technical issue.
[0023] The flock module 135 can also be configured to send
notification messages to interested third parties. Examples of
interested third parties can be a product development team, an
engineering team, a quality assurance team, etc.
[0024] For any interested third parties, the flock module 135 can
be configured to maintain a subscription link for each open support
ticket. More specifically, when the case management system 115
instantiates a new support ticket, the flock module 135 can create
a subscription link associated with the support ticket.
Accordingly, an interested party can activate the subscription link
to receive status updates, posts, or other activity associated with
the support ticket as well as participate in the resolution of the
support ticket. In some embodiments, an instant messaging or short
messaging system can supplement the subscription link.
[0025] FIG. 2 depicts a diagram 200 of a flock associated with
multiple tickets in accordance with another embodiment. As shown in
FIG. 2, the support tickets 205 that have been associated with a
selected flock 120 are routed to the selected flock 120 and are
maintained in the case management system 115. The flock module 135
can be configured to forward any activity to each member of the
selected flock 120 as well as to any interested members of the
engineering team 210. The flock module 135 can use a mailing list
as a mechanism to forward status messages, comments, etc, as well
as to receive the same from the members of the selected flock
120.
[0026] FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram 300 of a user association with
a ticket in a flock in accordance with yet another embodiment. As
shown in FIG. 3, a support ticket 305 can be associated with a
specific flock 120 as managed by the flock module 135. As part of
the distribution list, the flock module 135 can also automatically
include the reporting user 315 as well as any interested members of
an engineering team 310 for the status updates, comments, posts,
etc, of the support ticket 305. Accordingly, the reporting user 310
can have visibility in the resolution process of the reported
technical issue by the specific flock 120.
[0027] FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary flow diagram 400 for routing
from a web request in accordance with yet another embodiment. It
should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art
that the flow diagram 400 depicted in FIG. 4 represents a
generalized schematic illustration and that other steps may be
added or existing steps may be removed or modified.
[0028] As shown in FIG. 4, the flock module 135 can be configured
to receive a a web request for assistance from a web service and/or
website, in step 405. More particularly, a user can log-in to a
web-site that provides technical support. After authentication and
verification of entitlements to the technical support, a user can
be directed to a graphical user interface such as a web page that
is configured to query the user for the product and/or service and
a description of the technical issue or problem. An example of this
type of web page is shown in FIG. 5.
[0029] FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary technical support request GUI
500 in accordance with yet another embodiment. The technical
support request GUI 500 (hereinafter "GUI 500") is merely
illustrative and other variations of the GUI 500 are well within
the contemplated embodiments. The GUI 500 can be implemented as a
graphical page implemented in XML, HTML, SGML, or other similar
mark-up language.
[0030] As shown in, FIG. 5, the GUI 500 can comprise of
product/service headings 505 which define the types of supported
products/services. Under each product/service headings 505 are the
respective supported products/services 510 with an associated
selector buttons 510. A user can specify a particular
product/service that the user would like to request assistance.
[0031] The GUI 500 can also comprise a comment box 515 that allows
a user to describe in greater detail the problem with the selected
product/service. The comment box 515 can be implemented as text box
entry as known to those skilled in the art.
[0032] The GUI 500 can further comprise a submit button 520 and a
cancel button 525. The submit button 520 can be configured to
package the selection of the product/service along with the entered
comment to the flock module 135 when activated. The cancel button
525 can be configured to return the user to the calling web page
and discard any data when activated.
[0033] Returning to FIG. 4, in step 410, the flock module 135 can
be configured to route the received web request to the appropriate
flock 120 when the user activate the submit button 520 of the GUI
500.
[0034] In step 415, the flock module 135 can be configured to
assign the web request to the first available technical support
engineer. In other embodiments, the flock module 135 can assign any
received web request based on a user-defined algorithm or heuristic
such as first available junior member. The flock module 135 can
also invoke that a support ticket be created in the case management
system 115.
[0035] In step 420, the flock module 135 can be configure to
generate a notification message to all the members junior and
senior) of the flock 120. More particularly, the notification
message can comprise of information such as the support ticket
reference number or identification, a description of the problem,
the assigned member, and a request for the members to contribute
any solutions to the problem. The notification message can also be
sent to any interested third parties.
[0036] The flock module 135 can also be configure to create a
subscription link for the interested third parties to participate
in the resolution process of the support ticket. Accordingly,
interest third parties can activate the subscription link to join
the resolution process.
[0037] In step 425, the flock module 135 can provide the
subscription link to the user. The user can then be informed of the
progress of the reported problem as it is resolved by the flock
120, i.e, visibility, when the subscription link is activated.
[0038] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram 600 executed by
the telephone router module 125 in accordance with yet another
embodiment. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary
skill in the art that the flow diagram 600 depicted in FIG. 6
represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other
steps may be added or existing steps may be removed or
modified.
[0039] As shown in FIG. 6, the telephone router module 125 can be
configured to receive a telephone call from an existing telephone
network, in step 605. The telephone router module 125 can then
route the received telephone call to the highest likely flock 120
as previously described, in step 610.
[0040] In step 615, a first available service agent can answer the
telephone call and determine whether the telephone call was
directed to the right flock. In other embodiments, a user-defined
algorithm/heuristic can be used to determine which member of the
flock answers the telephone call.
[0041] If the telephone call was correctly routed, in step 615, the
answering service agent is then assigned the technical issue
associated with the telephone call, in step 620. The service agent
can open a support ticket in the case management system 115. The
flock module 135 can then forward the notification message to the
rest of the flock as previously described with respect to FIG. 4.
Otherwise, if the call was incorrectly routed to the flock, in step
615, the service agent can route the telephone call to the correct
flock, in step 625.
[0042] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram 700 executed by
the flock module 135 in accordance with yet another embodiment. It
should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art
that the flow diagram 700 depicted in FIG. 7 represents a
generalized schematic illustration and that other steps may be
added or existing steps may be removed or modified.
[0043] As shown in FIG. 7, the flock module 135 can be configured
to receive a response for a support ticket, in step 705. The
response can be a status update, a comment, a potential resolution
post, etc. as provided by a member of the flock 120.
[0044] In step 710, the flock module 135 can then forward received
response to the entire flock 120 to keep the members of the flock
informed of the status of the support ticket. Similarly, in step
715, the flock module 135 can forward the received response to any
interested third parties. Finally, in step 720, the flock module
can forward the received response to the reporting user.
[0045] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a computing
platform 800 where an embodiment may be practiced. The functions of
the flock module may be implemented in program code and executed by
the computing platform 800. The flock module may be implemented in
computer languages such as PASCAL, C, C++, JAVA, etc.
[0046] As shown in FIG. 8, the computer system 800 includes one or
more processors, such as processor 802 that provide an execution
platform for embodiments of the flock module 135. Commands and data
from the processor 802 are communicated over a communication bus
804. The computer system 800 also includes a main memory 806, such
as a Random Access Memory (RAM), where the flock module 130 may be
executed during runtime, and a secondary memory 808. The secondary
memory 808 includes, for example, a hard disk drive 810 and/or a
removable storage drive 812, representing a floppy diskette drive,
a magnetic tape drive, a compact disk drive, etc., where a copy of
a computer program embodiment for the flock module 135 may be
stored. The removable storage drive 812 reads from and/or writes to
a removable storage unit 814 in a well-known manner. A user
interfaces with the flock module 135 with a keyboard 816, a mouse
818, and a display 820. The display adapter 822 interfaces with the
communication bus 804 and the display 820. The display adapter 822
also receives display data from the processor 802 and converts the
display data into display commands for the display 820.
[0047] Certain embodiments may be performed as a computer program.
The computer program may exist in a variety of forms both active
and inactive. For example, the computer program can exist as
software program(s) comprised of program instructions in source
code, object code, executable code or other formats; firmware
program(s); or hardware description language (HDL) files. Any of
the above can be embodied on a computer readable medium, which
include storage devices and signals, in compressed or uncompressed
form. Exemplary computer readable storage devices include
conventional computer system RAM (random access memory), ROM
(read-only memory), EPROM (erasable, programmable ROM), EEPROM
(electrically erasable, programmable ROM), and magnetic or optical
disks or tapes. Exemplary computer readable signals, whether
modulated using a carrier or not, are signals that a computer
system hosting or running the present invention can be configured
to access, including signals downloaded through the Internet or
other networks. Concrete examples of the foregoing include
distribution of executable software program(s) of the computer
program on a CD-ROM or via Internet download. In a sense, the
Internet itself, as an abstract entity, is a computer readable
medium. The same is true of computer networks in general.
[0048] While the invention has been described with reference to the
exemplary embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will be
able to make various modifications to the described embodiments
without departing from the true spirit and scope. The terms and
descriptions used herein are set forth by way of illustration only
and are not meant as limitations. In particular, although the
method has been described by examples, the steps of the method may
be performed in a different order than illustrated or
simultaneously. Those skilled in the art will recognize that these
and other variations are possible within the spirit and scope as
defined in the following claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *